2. Short pre-production

Born of Hope

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Friday was primary casting day for Stop/Eject; thanks to everyone who came along. We should be reaching a decision very soon on at least one of the characters.

On Saturday I ventured up to Debden in Epping Forest, where three years ago I helped out for a few days as a cameraman on Born of Hope. Born of Hope is a very ambitious feature-length Lord of the Rings fan film, directed and produced by Kate Madison. The finished piece impressed me far more than the official film trilogy, and I very much related to Kate’s struggles and determination to get it to the screen on a microbudget.

Kate Madison
Born of Hope producer-director Kate Madison

I attended Saturday’s cast and crew reunion in order to do my first bit of shooting for a new documentary feature I have in the works. Currently saddled with the terrible working title “Living in a Fantasy World”, this doc will follow several amibitious UK filmmakers as they make or try to raise finance for their independent fantasy/sci-fi projects. Kate was one of the first people I thought of when I came up with the idea, and I look forward to following her and her partner Chris Dane as they develop their next projects, The Last Beacon and an untitled fantasy web series.

Living in a Fantasy World is very embryonic at the moment and little else is likely to happen on it until next year, but rest assured that you’ll always be able to hear the latest news on it here at neiloseman.com

Born of Hope

Dark Side update

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Benedict Cumberbatch as Max
Benedict Cumberbatch as Max (photo: Richard Unger)

Carl and I have decided we need to change tack a little with The Dark Side of the Earth. We had some interest from a major Hollywood studio, but the suggestion was that the dialogue is too period, too archaic. I just don’t have the mental capacity to tackle another draft, so we’re looking for a writer who can do a polish and make it a little more mainstream, ideally someone with experience of writing for Hollywood. I’ll let you know how that goes, but it definitely seems like if this film is going to be made it will not be by a UK company.

In other news, I’m now casting for Stop/Eject, the short fantasy drama I’m shooting next month. And if anyone reading is in London this Friday afternoon and fancies helping me out running the auditions, please get in touch.

Dark Side update